While out shopping for Christmas presents in 2018, I bought myself a jigsaw puzzle on a whim. It was an unusual buy, one that I now recognize as an attempt at dealing with that particular stress many of us experience during the holidays. Don’t get me wrong—I love seeing my family. But holiday get-togethers have a way of putting any personal shortcomings at center stage. This cheery pink puzzle had everything I felt I needed to distract myself in one box. And at $20, the price was right. Why not?
As soon as I started on my puzzle, I knew I’d found exactly what I was looking for. Instead of my usual latenight Netflix binge, I was sorting its 1,000 pieces well into the wee hours. I finished it in just a few days. I felt possessed by the soothing, methodical action, almost like I’d been hypnotized or spent hours meditating.
Robyn Breen, a dance instructor at Misfitstudio in Toronto, knows the feeling. At a family gathering years ago, Breen was reintroduced to puzzles and fell in love with their soothing effect.
Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
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Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Pier Pressure - A brutal storm rips a floating beachside store from its moorings, sending it and its occupants out to sea
A brutal storm rips a floating beachside store from its moorings, sending it and its occupants out to sea. It was around 6:30 on a June morning in 2023, and a Facebook post caught Boyd Jordan's eye. Shell Isle Mercantile, a floating store that sold beachgoing fare-sunglasses, inflatables, food, umbrellas-had been ripped from its moorings on Shell Island, just off Florida's northern Gulf Coast, by a storm the night before and had floated 3 miles across the bay to Panama City.
Do You Kiss Your Dog? - Find out how gross your questionable habits really are, according to health experts
I admit it, when it comes to food, I have some eeew-inducing practices, like skimming mold off old cheddar and feeding the rest to my unsuspecting family. We're still alive, so how bad can it be? Because our gross human habits fall somewhere along the spectrum from mildly cringeworthy to full-on repulsive, I reached out to experts to find out where some common behaviors land on the gross-o-meter.
What's Ailing Our Doctors? - Today's physicians are burned out and battered by spreadsheets. We patients suffer too.
Today’s physicians are burned out and battered by spreadsheets. We patients suffer too. America's doctors are in crisis. Six in 10 physicians say they're burned out, with burnout rates for some specialties, such as primary care, reaching 70%. When polled by the American Medical Association, 40% of doctors said they were considering leaving their practices in the next two years. Another study, conducted by health-care industry publisher Elsevier, revealed concerns about mental health and burnout: 63% of med students in the United States reported that they had no intention of practicing clinical medicine after graduation and will instead work as lab researchers or academics. This is despite a predicted shortage of 124,000 physicians over the next 10 years.
Now Hear This
Losing your hearing suddenly, even if there is no pain, is always urgent
Go for the Gumbo
The soulful stew synonymous with Louisiana is delicious anywhere you eat it
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
Pinned by a giant boulder, a hiker had two choices: panic or gut it out. He did both.
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honor the many men who helped her survive her childhood
MY SMART PET
These clever critters are some smart C-O-O-K-I-E-S
How Hobbies Help Us
Far from a waste of time, pastimes are good for body, brain and spirit
1+1 = MORE (or LESS)
A math whiz encourages you to play with your numbers
